Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We used to have an agreement between our government and the federal government through E.D.A. which enabled the hunters of the Northwest Territories to get some resources to purchase snowmobiles, outboards, etc. This agreement has been discontinued by the federal government. We pursued vigorously to see if we could come up with the same agreement between Economic Development and Tourism and our department, but we were not successful. We have also explored some options in which we could help the hunters and trappers in the Northwest Territories. We were not able to agree on a program which would be acceptable to the people of the Northwest Territories. The Dene Nation, T.F.N. and the Metis Association were involved in the development of the program. At the present time the government is relying on land claim money to help hunters and trappers. It does not mean that we are not exploring other options.

Last year, Mr. Speaker, the government was able to identify $600,000 to assist hunters and trappers throughout the Northwest Territories. This was utilized by the local H.T.A.s to help hunters and trappers. This year, because of restraint, we have limited resources for this program. Thank you.